A three-horse race was trimmed down to a two-horse battle after the results of the penultimate weekend of the La Liga. Going into the final day, the title will be won by one of the two biggest football clubs in the world – Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Barcelona hold the upper hand and the lead going into this final day battle, with the defending champions knowing a win over nothing-to-play-Granada will make them champions for the second season running, irrespective of what Real Madrid do on Saturday.
Real Madrid, who are a point behind Barcelona, going into the last match of the La Liga season, though, must defeat Deportivo La Coruna, and hope Barcelona fail to pick up all three points for them to stand any chance of winning their first title since 2012.
Barcelona have 88 points from 37 matches, while Real Madrid have 87 points from the same amount of games.
The scenario is easy enough, just win and you will be the champions, as far as Barcelona are concerned; just win and hope Barca don't as far as Real Madrid are concerned.
It would have been a three-way race for the title, much like it was two seasons back, had Atletico Madrid not tripped up spectacularly against Levante, a team which were already relegated and had absolutely nothing to play for. If Barcelona were to trip up on the final day, Atletico will look back at that 2-1 defeat and wonder what might have been.
But, for now, it is between Barcelona and Real Madrid -- the two El Clasico rivals.
Barcelona travel to Granada, who guaranteed their place in the La Liga for next season with a 4-1 result over Sevilla last weekend. With their status in the big leagues confirmed, Granada do not really have much to play for, but who will not want to have a say in the title race?
That is precisely what they can do, if they manage to find a way to stop Barcelona, and the famed "MSN" attack of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. After a stutter following the El Clasico loss to Real Madrid, which in turn allowed Real and Atletico to come back into the title race, Barca have found their mojo again, scoring 21 goals in their last four La Liga games.
It goes without saying that Messi, Suarez and Neymar will be the key, and if Barca score early, the floodgates could open and it will end up a happy coronation day for the Catalan side. But, if Granada manage to keep it tight, the longer the match stays level, the more nervous Barcelona will get, and when nerves come into play, mistakes happen.
At least, that is what Real Madrid will be hoping, even if all their focus from 5 p.m. local time (8.30 p.m. IST) will be on picking up the three points; without a win, Barcelona's result at Granada will not matter.
Cristiano Ronaldo starred for Real Madrid in their last game, scoring a brace, and the Portuguese will have to be at his best again to ensure his team do what they need to do.
La Liga final day schedule:
Granada vs Barcelona
Date: Saturday, May 14.
Time: 5 p.m. CET (8.30 p.m. IST, 4 p.m. BST, 11 a.m. ET).
Venue: Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.
TV listings: India: AXN SD. Spain: Movistar TV Futbol, Abono Futbol and Canal+. UK: Sky Sports 3. USA, Canada, Australia, Middle East, North Africa, France and Thailand: Bein Sports. South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: SuperSport 3. South America and Latin America: Direct TV. China: PPTV, Guangdong Sports, QQ Sports. Hong Kong: Now TV.
Deportivo La Coruna vs Real Madrid
Date: Saturday, May 14.
Time: 5 p.m. (8.30 p.m. IST, 4 p.m. BST, 11 a.m. ET).
Venue: Riazor.
TV listings: India: AXN HD. Spain: Movistar TV Futbol, Abono Futbol and Canal+. UK: Sky Sports 4. USA, Canada, Australia, Middle East, North Africa, France: Bein Sports. Thailand: True Sport. Singapore: SuperSports. South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: SuperSport 5. South America and Latin America: Direct TV. China: PPTV, QQ Sports. Hong Kong: Now TV.
